Canadian marrying American and sponsoring

Hello.

I'm helping out a good friend of mine with his situation, as he seems a little unsure.

He lives in Canada, stable employment. Met an American girl (who lives in the US) a few months ago, they've already decided they are getting married this summer. The wedding will be in Canada, and they intend to live in Canada. I have a few questions:

- I assume they should submit an outland application shortly after the wedding? They would have all paperwork ready and submit immediately after having the marriage certificate in hand?
- She intends on entering Canada as a regular visitor, having a "court wedding", then submitting the application. The reason they are having the wedding here, is because they are concerned about her being denied entry to visit Canada after being married while the sponsorship is in progress - since she is unemployed. If she enters without asking for a visitor record, is it still possible to apply for an extension of status after the sponsorship application is submitted?
- Is there a concern of CIC denying their application on the basis that they had in fact planned the wedding prior to her entering as a visitor? Would this be further prejudiced if they also had a "cultural wedding" along with the "court wedding"?
- What is more accurate for a US outland application - the 6-8 months mentioned on these forums or the 11 months mentioned on CIC's website for Buffalo?

Thanks in advance for any help.